SCAR Renewal

Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research

SCAR Renewal

Colin Summerhayes

Executive Director

Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)


•Formed in 1958 by ICSU to continue coordination of Antarctic research begun in IGY;

•Comprises 32 Nations plus 7 ICSU Unions;

•Delegates and Science Groups meet every 2 years;

•Executive meets annually;

•Secretariat housed at SPRI, Cambridge, UK;

•Executive Director appointed April 2004.

Background


SCAR Strategic Plan

• Needed to consolidate response to the 2000 Review of SCAR to respond to recommendations of ICSU, 2004 to consider response to development of an IPY to consider how to understand the role of the Antarctic region in

the global system to consider how to respond to the advance of global science

programmes into the Antarctic region to consider how to acquire the appropriate level of resources to

get the job done

• Provides a commonly agreed roadmap to the future a model for national committees


New Mission and Remit

1. New definition of the SCAR Mission

to be the leading independent organisation for facilitating and coordinating Antarctic research, and for identifying issues emerging from greater scientific understanding of the region that should be brought to the attention of policy makers

2. New geographical remit

SCAR’s area of interest includes Antarctica, its offshore islands, and the surrounding Southern Ocean including the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the northern boundary of which is the Subantarctic Front

recognises the importance (a) of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in thermally isolating Antarctica and (b) of the entire Southern Ocean system in governing Antarctic climate and its connection to the rest of the world.


Five New Objectives

• to initiate, develop, and co-ordinate high-quality international scientific research in the Antarctic region, and on the role of the Antarctic region in the Earth System

• to provide objective and independent scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings and other organizations on issues of science and conservation affecting the management of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean

• to facilitate free and unrestricted access to Antarctic scientific data and information

• to develop scientific capacity in all SCAR Members, especially with respect to younger scientists, and to promote the incorporation of Antarctic science in education at all levels

• to communicate scientific information about the Antarctic region to the public


New StructureDelegates Meeting

Executive Committee-------------------------------

SCAR Secretariat

Delegate Committee on Delegate Committee onScientific Affairs Standing Committees

Standing Scientific Groups Standing Committees

Geosciences Antarctic Treaty System-------------------------------------- ----------------------------------

Life Sciences Finance--------------------------------------

Physical Sciences

Scientific Research SCAR–COMNAP JointProgrammes Committee on Antarctic

Data Management


New Science Organisation

• Umbrella provided by Standing Scientific Groups [Geosciences, Life Sciences, & Physical Sciences]

• 5-6 Major Programmes lasting 4-10 years

• Action Groups to address short term initiatives (2 - 4 years)

• Expert Groups where a longer term view is required (4 - 10 years): Oceanography, Sea Ice (ASPeCT)

• Joint Committee for Antarctic Data Management (JCADM).

• New Open Science Conference every 2 years (from July 2004)


New Science Programmes

• AGCS: Antarctic and the Global Climate System

• ACE: Antarctic Climate Evolution

• EBA: Evolution and Biodiversity in the Antarctic

• ICESTAR: Interhemispheric Conjugacy Effects in Solar-Terrestrial and Aeronomy Research

• SALE: Subglacial Lake Environments


Action And Expert Groups

Geosciences: Neotectonics; Digital Magnetic Anomaly; Southern Ocean bathymetry; Permafrost; Geodetic Infrastructure; Geographic Information; Marine Survey; Communication,

Life Sciences: Birds; Seals; Human Biology and Medicine; Best Practices for Conservation; Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA); Biological Monitoring

Physical Sciences: Plateau Astronomy Site Testing; Middle Atmosphere Dynamics and Electron Precipitation; Antarctic Peninsula Tropospheric-Ionospheric Coupling; Oceanography; Reference Antarctic Data for Environmental Research; Modelling and Observational Studies of Katabatic Winds; Tropospheric Aerosols and their Role in Climate; Solar-Terrestrial Processes and Space Weather; Astronomy and Astrophysics; Operational Meteorology; Ice Sheet Mass Balance and Sea level; International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition; Sea-Ice Processes and

Climate; Ice-drilling technology; King George Island


Developing Partnerships with

Global Research Groups• WCRP’s

Climate and the Cryosphere (CliC) Programme; Southern Ocean Implementation Panel (CLIVAR/CliC); International Programme for Antarctic Buoys (IPAB);

• SCOR SCAR-SCOR Oceanography Expert Group (with iAnZone Affiliated); SCAR/SCOR Southern Ocean interdisciplinary session at IAPSO/IABO

Cairns meeting, 2005; • Bi-polar Cryosphere Theme study with IGOS-Partners (space agencies, UN

agencies , WCRP, ICSU, IGBP)• GLOBEC Southern Ocean Panel • JCADM (NADC) - IODE (NODC) Ocean Data and Information Network

proposal• Circum-Antarctic CoML


Need New Strategic Elements

• Need to Develop Strategies for

Capacity building Education Communication Data and Information Management


Develop and Apply New Financial Strategy

Apply New Financial Strategy

Increase core income from Members

Seek targeted income from specific agencies for specific programme activities (in Action Groups, Expert Groups and Scientific Research Programmes) - if possible to double the budget


SCAR Advisory Committee on IPY

• to advise the Executive Committee on the SCAR input to the IPY Science Plan;

• to advise the Executive Committee on the SCAR role in IPY Implementation, and on the content of the IPY Implementation Plan;

• to ensure that IPY is reflected in the SCAR Scientific Research Programmes;

• to work with COMNAP and other appropriate organisations to realize IPY objectives for the southern hemisphere;

• to monitor the IPY process as it unfolds, and advise SCAR on how its contribution to the IPY should develop.


Antarctica and the Global Climate System

Use: existing deep and shallow ice cores, satellite data, output of global and regional coupled atmosphere-ocean climate

models in-situ meteorological and oceanic data, including some new ice core and oceanographic data,

To assess: • ocean-atmosphere coupling and the role of ENSO in modulating Antarctic

climate;

• recent climate variability from shallow ice cores;

• regional estimates of climate change over Antarctica during the next 100 years;

• how climate changes in the Antarctic influence conditions elsewhere

IPY Special Observing Period: (I) test models and high-low latitude climate signal transfer functions; and (ii) carry out a major bi-polar shallow ice drilling programme.


Antarctic Climate Evolution

• Quantitatively assess climate and glacial history of Antarctica;

• Identify processes governing Antarctic climate change and links elsewhere;

• Improve ability to model past climate changes in Antarctica;

• Develop case studies for testing models of future change.

Acquire and compile “ground truth” geoscience data from Eocene (40Ma) to end of Pleistocene glaciation (15,000 yrs);

Develop/test paleoclimate models: Eocene-Oligocene events; Oligocene-Miocene boundary; mid Miocene climate shift; glacial warm events.

Test and improve models: ice sheet; coupled ice-sheet/climate/ocean; and coupled ice sheet and sediment.

Assess role of polar ocean gateways in exchanges of heat and freshwater.

IPY: model mid-Miocene climate shift and Pleistocene warm periods; model Trans-Antarctic Mountains-McMurdo region; model East Antarctic Ice Sheet; use new

drilling technology to drill on land (SHALDRILL) and from ice shelves (ANDRILL)


Evolution and Biodiversity in the

Antarctic • Examine evolutionary history of the biota.

• Determine evolutionary adaptations to the environment.

• Establish patterns of gene flow within, into and out of the region, and their consequences for population dynamics.

• Define patterns and diversity of organisms, ecosystems and habitats, and their controlling ecological and evolutionary processes.

• Determine impact of past, current and predicted environmental change on biodiversity and the consequences for Antarctic ecosystem function.

• IPY focus = Circum-Antarctic Census of Marine Life, and establishment of MarBIN (Marine Biodiversity Information Network)


Subglacial Lake Exploration

• determine the genetic diversity in the water columns and benthic sediments;

• establish geochemical and isotopic composition of lake water constituents to determine their role in biological processes and water column stability, and to establish the age of lake water;

• understand the tectonic and ice sheet setting of lakes;

• understand the interrelation between ice sheet processes and lake water circulation;

• determine lake and ice sheet histories;

• IPY address technological challenges and environmental stewardship issues including environmental concerns and safeguards.

• IPY Contribute to initial exploration of selected lake(s) e.g small Lake Ellsworth (2007), larger Lake Concordia (2008)


Interhemispheric Conjugacy Effects in Solar-Terrestrial and Aeronomy Research • Coordinate bipolar research in solar-terrestrial physics and polar aeronomy

• Share experimental data from arrays of geophysical instrumentation deployed over the polar regions and in near-Earth space.

• Use emerging Grid technology (computers linked via Internet) to share data and converge data and models

• Fill gaps in understanding of the solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere interaction, and of the dynamics of the Earth’s magnetosphere during geomagnetic storms and coronal mass ejections.

• Learn how solar forcing affects the upper atmosphere (hence weather and climate) at high latitudes

• Create a data portal linking geophysical databases to provide a systems view of the polar upper atmosphere, and encourage collaboration

• IPY Develop the appropriate observatories (e.g. complete coverage with radars) for observing geospace (a contribution to SCAR’s ICESTAR programme)


Generic Contributions to the IPY Legacy

• A comprehensive data and information management strategy that facilitates easy access to data collected during the IPY, and its use in GIS

• A benchmark series of geological, geophysical and bathymetric maps

• A network of autonomous geology/or geophysics observatories to investigate systems-scale polar geodynamics and interactions with the cryosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere.

• Assessment of the viability of Dome A for a large diameter astronomical telescope

• An integrated Southern Ocean observing system including synoptic, multidisciplinary transects; time series measurements; enhanced atmospheric measurements; and new paleoclimate data sets

• Improve coordination of cryospheric observations and generate data and information to support the Cryosphere Theme of the IGOS Partners

• Focus attention on major geological features for which no plate tectonic explanation exists (Gamburtsev Mountains)

SCAR Renewal

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